Poetry - March 2021

Crystal Palace Circuit

As I walk through Crystal Palace Park
It's hard to believe many years ago
That there was a motor racing circuit here
With the touring and saloon cars in full flow
Heading round North Tower Crescent
And then through the trees in The Glade
Down past the athletics stadium and the pool
Before heading up Maxim Rise in the shade
It certainly was a relatively tight and small track
But certainly was full of action
As James Hunt was shunted off in Formula 3
He took his own decisive punching reaction
The noise would eventually mean it shut
But the paths through the park are still there
Remidning me of a bygone motor racing era
Where the smell of petrol was very much in the air.

(Walking the paths in the park now really shows that .)

Excuse Me Whilst I Interrupt Myself

The voice of Formula 1 has sadly left us
With a sense of sadness all around the paddock
An icon to many and a legend to one and all
Definitely I felt last Saturday night the sense of shock
His unique commentary style got me into the sport
With plenty of dramatic moments all told
The last few laps of the 1982 Monaco Grand Prix
Were enough to show it was very bold
That you'd have such drama and tension
With the rise and fall in the voice with every moment
The interaction with James Hunt was superb
It really showed the best of the sport as a compliment
I would watch the races for many years to come
With the legend at the track screaming out loud
It was always even better with Mansell and then Hill
Because them winning with commentary made us all proud
It was a sad day when the legend retired from the box
But we knew that so many years had been spent
Where we all enjoyed the passion and excitement
And why not have a healthy and happy retirement
Excuse me whilst I interrupt myself
But I can see him in my earphones
The isms that made Murray Walker so famous
Just delivered in such wonderful tones.

(It won't be the same watching F1 without having Murray Walker at the start yelling out "Go go go go!" and indeed watching back historic races with his commentary shows just how good he was and how much I will miss all of that..)

Reflections on Towyn

For those of you who don't know
This is a little village seaside town
Halfway between Abergele and Rhyl
Up there on the North Wales Coast
It is awash with holiday parks
Caravans littered around for miles
There's many arcades and sites
Bridges over the coastal railway
And then a little walk further
And you arrive at the sea wall
Down onto the beach you step
It stretches for miles here
The sand is perfect for sandcastles
You're within reach of most of north Wales
You can go to Rhyl and Llandudno
Or go to see some jousting if you go
To a castle just outside of Abergele
But one wintry day over thirty years ago
The village was totally flooded
As the dreaded sea wall there
Which some had deemed unsafe for ayears
Finally crumbled to the power of the sea
And gallons of water gushed into the village
It was not a pretty sight at all
People's livelihoods taken away
A lot of caravans were ruined as well
And the owners lost out a lot too
But I have many memories of being there
Smelling the fresh sea air as I walked to the beach
Being on the railway bridge when a train passed under
And the great blowing wind that that would create
I vow to go back there one day soon
And see how wonderful it all still is there
I don't care if people sniff at it as cheap
It certainly was a happy place for a holiday.

(So many memories of being thee back in the day.. and of course the Black Cat arcade, halcyon times! The castle near Abergele was actually used for the most recent series of I'm A Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here too.)

Something Has To Change

I want a world where everyone feels safe
And not a threat of murder, misogyny or malice
We all need to do better to make this world safe
So that acts that are harmful to others are a poisoned chalice
I wish sometimes I could do more to help
I know that we've all got our own part to play
At the same time we can all make a good start
By saying enough is enough and there's no way
We'll lie down and take the brutality of the world
Without a right to speak up and voice our thoughts
Because we all know that repression into silence
Is the first step to us all becoming noughts
I know that we all need to be completely equal
No matter who we may be or who we are
But until there's something which has to change
The road to getting there is long and it is far
I also know that I feel so disgusted and angry
That in this modern day age we live in
There's so many people who live in fear
And don't want to be out at night and just stay in
Is this the world we've all created and made
Just so that one sex can appear to dominate
Where ranks are closed in and the police do what they want
Making them becoming more of a figure of hate
We all need to better and the time starts now
So we can all work on what a solution should be
That in the long term will mean we're all the same
And that no longer should that fest stop us being free.

(After the sad events of the last week or so, I feel that something has to change - less hate, less sexism, and more kindness and looking out for each other. We can all improve ourselves, me included.)

Bedtime Cat Haiku

Brian loves the bed
Curled up in the right corner
Wanting a tickle!

(Brian the cat always is ready for bedtime and lots of sleepy time, and loves a tummy tickle!)